iamold

I'll try to give as much detail as I can without identifying myself: I have a bachelors in Math and am working in industry as a data scientist (in tech if it matters.) As an undergrad I always liked the idea of going and getting a phd and returning to industry afterward, but life happened and that wasn't an option until recently. I'm turning 30 in 2019 and am starting a masters in stats at a top 20 stats department that I will finish in 2020. Naturally I'm revisiting the possibility of getting a phd. Am I already out of the running at top 10 departments? Top 20? Moreover, what would I need to do and how would it differ from what some hot shot kid straight out of undergrad would have to do? Finally, is there a way to go in openly and consciously seeking to use the phd in industry, rather than academia, so that my age and experience in industry plays to my advantage - or are all top departments exclusively seeking to bring in future tenure track university researchers?